Thanksgiving Blessing
by ladypatpatriot
Summary: A modern one shot about Thanksgiving with the Thorntons


Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving was one of Elizabeth's favorite holidays. That and Christmas. She felt so blessed this year. She and Jack had married on Christmas Eve, then spent their honeymoon in Hawaii. They had a grand time and came back home to Boston more in love than ever. They quickly fell into their new married life and loved every moment of it. She was so happy, especially now. She realized last week she may be pregnant. Jack was in Washington DC at a conference for police officers to discuss the growing problems with shootings in the country, a situation she prayed every day for a solution. Jack returned home the day before Thanksgiving. While he was away, she took a home test, which was positive and then managed to get in to see her doctor to have it confirmed. She was six weeks along. Elizabeth decided it would be nice to tell him about the baby during Thanksgiving dinner. It would be just the two of them; her family was spending the holiday in Europe where they were visiting her older sister Viola and her husband. Jack's mother was in California with her sister. Tom, Jack's brother was a pilot in the Air Force and he was stationed overseas. They couldn't go anywhere since Jack was needed back at the station on Monday and school resumed for her on the same day. They opted to spend their first Thanksgiving as a married couple by themselves.

Elizabeth woke up early. She wanted to get started on dinner but first she needed to settle her stomach down. The morning sickness was starting to kick in. She had read on line some pointers on how to take care of it. Before getting out of bed, she paused to look at her sleeping husband. He had been so tired when he returned home yesterday; a lot of his meetings went long into the night and he didn't get much sleep while he was away. She decided to let him rest some more even though she knew he would be a little mad she didn't wake him up. He had been bugging her to let him help her with dinner but she kept telling him she could handle it herself. She slowly got out of bed, thankful that she didn't feel nauseous. She went to the kitchen and made herself some toast and mint tea. With all the cooking she had to do today, she didn't want to risk getting sick. It was better to be pro-active and eat first. After she finished her toast, she slipped back into the bedroom to get dressed, putting on a pair of black leggings and a long sleeved pink shirt. She put her slippers on, opting to having her feet be comfortable. She kissed Jack on the cheek then returned to the kitchen to being working on dinner.

As she was working on cutting vegetables she started thinking about how she wanted to tell Jack about the baby. Her original idea was to tell him at dinner when they said Grace. Now she didn't think she could wait that long. She was so excited and she knew that Jack could use some good news. He had been disappointed when he came home as the trip didn't seem to solve much. He deserved to know as soon as possible. She wondered if he would insist on helping her with dinner if she told me as soon as he got up. She stood up from the table to bring the vegetables to the counter. She spun around too quickly and she got dizzy, dropping the bowl with the vegetables resulting in a loud crash. She reached out to grab the counter to steady herself as she heard Jack come running out of the bedroom.

Jack was just waking up when he heard the crash. He ran to the kitchen to find Elizabeth clutching the kitchen counter and her eyes closed. "Elizabeth? What's wrong?" He put his arm around her and slowly walked her back to the table. He helped her sit down. "Are you sick? I know you were feeling under the weather before I left. Should we go to the hospital?"

Elizabeth opened her eyes as the dizzy feeling went away. She found herself looking into her handsome husband's worried face. She knew then she had to tell him. She took his hand and brought it to her lips. "No, I don't need to go to the hospital. Jack, I have something important to tell you. I was going to wait until dinner but I can't wait that long."

Jack grabbed her hand. "Please tell me what's going on, Elizabeth." He was feeling nervous and scared. He was afraid of what she might have to tell him.

Elizabeth looked into his eyes and she smiled. "Jack, My Love. We have so many things to be thankful for this year. We are happily married, we are secure financially, our family and friends are healthy and most importantly, next summer you and I will be welcoming a new member to our little family." She took one on his hands and brought it to her abdomen, watching his face for a reaction.

Jack looked down at his hand as he let what she said settle into his mind. A new member of the family? Did that mean what he thought? He glanced down again at his hand then up to her face. She had a smile on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're pregnant?" He whispered as he wiped the tears off her cheeks.

She nodded. "Are you happy?"

Jack stood up and gently pulled her into his arms. "Sweetheart! Happy doesn't cut it. I am beyond happy!" He kissed her then, showing her without words what he was feeling. When they parted, he gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. "I love you!" He hugged her again, then put his hand down on her abdomen. "I love you too, Baby Thornton."

They stood together, in each other's arms, just relishing the moment. After a few minutes, Jack pulled away and helped Elizabeth sit down again. Once he sat back down next to her, she brought a hand to his face and wiped his tears away. She brought his hand back to her abdomen. "We love you too!"

Jack grinned. He needed this news today. "When did you find out?"

"Last week while you were away. I took a home test that was positive. I was able to get in to see my doctor Tuesday. She just did a quick exam and calculated when my due date would be. Late June or early July. I set up an appointment for three weeks from now for an ultrasound. I got the last appointment of the day in case you wanted to come with me."

"I would love to. In fact I want to go to every appointment with you, if I can. I want to be a part of the pregnancy experience with you."

"That's sweet, Jack. I would love it if you came with me to my appointments." She glanced over to the stove and saw the time. "I need to get going with dinner. I have to chop more veggies and prep the turkey to get into the oven." She started to rise but Jack pulled her back down.

"I am going to help you today. You shouldn't have to do everything when I can help you. You should be off your feet as much as possible. Just tell me what you need me to do."

Elizabeth smiled. Just as she thought a few minutes earlier, he wanted to help her with dinner so she wouldn't be wearing herself out. Even though she knew she could handle dinner herself, she decided to let him help. She thought it would be fun to cook dinner together. "Thanks, Jack. I would love to have some help. Would you go out to the balcony and get the cooler? I did the turkey brine recipe you like so much and the turkey has been in the cooler out on the balcony since Monday. After you bring it in, could you wash the turkey out and pat it dry?"

"Of course." He walked to the balcony doors and stepped outside to get the cooler. He shivered a little since he didn't put his jacket on but he wasn't going to be out long. He dragged the cooler into their apartment and brought it to the kitchen. As he passed the table, he glanced over at his wife while she was chopping the veggies. She was so beautiful. She was glowing. He paused to kiss her before going to the sink.

After she finished the veggies, she pushed the bowl aside until she needed it. She stood up slowly, making sure she didn't get dizzy again and went to get the ingredients she needed to make dessert. She wasn't a fan of the traditional pies served at Thanksgiving. Neither was Jack for that matter. Last year, she had made a Tollhouse Pie and he loved it. She wanted to get the pie in the oven early, before the turkey would go in. As she walked past Jack, she put her arms around his waist. He turned slightly to look at her and smiled.

"How are you feeling, Sweetheart?"

"I'm doing much better. I am starting to get a little hungry. I think I will have some breakfast after I get the pie in the oven."

"You haven't eaten yet? That's not good."

"I had some toast earlier. I wanted to make sure the morning sickness didn't make an appearance today. I haven't been hungry until now."

"I will make us some breakfast then. I am done taking care of the turkey. Would you like to make omelets?" He figured she would say yes because she loved them so much.

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and made a face. "No thank you, Jack. Eggs aren't agreeing with me now that I am pregnant. They make me throw up."

"Then eggs are out for the time being. How about pancakes or French toast?"

"Pancakes sound delicious." She replied as she brought what she needed to the table to make the pie while Jack got what he needed for the pancakes. They ate breakfast smiling at each other and talking about their baby.

A little later in the day, after they had put the turkey in the oven and the pie was cooling, Jack and Elizabeth went to the couch to watch football. Jack held her in his arms while she closed her eyes to rest for a while. At halftime of the first game, they got up to check on dinner, then returned to the couch.

"Jack? May I talk to you about something?" She sat up and moved so she was facing him.

"Of course, Sweetheart. You know you can always talk to me."

"Well, I have been doing some thinking since I found out about the baby. This apartment has a small second bedroom. I am not sure it will be big enough for a nursery. I was thinking we either need to find an apartment with bigger bedrooms or buy a house. What do you think?"

"I have actually been thinking about that for a while, but finding out about the baby today brought it back to mind. I think we would be better off buying a house. What we spend on rent here is practically a monthly mortgage payment. We should really be putting our money to better use."

"I agree. I would much rather buy a house, someplace we can raise our family in for years to come." She leaned over to kiss him. "Then it's settled? We start house hunting?"

"Yes, that sounds good. We can start looking on line this weekend though."

"One of the teachers I work with is married to a realtor. I am sure he would help us find a place. I can mention it on Monday."

"Perfect!" Jack replied as Elizabeth settled back into his arms and was soon asleep. Later that day, as they sat down for dinner, they counted their blessings as they said Grace.

Fourth of July 2017

"That's it, Elizabeth! You are doing so well! Keep breathing!" Jack whispered in her ear as Elizabeth felt another contraction building. She had been in labor for sixteen hours and she was almost ready to start pushing. At last check she was at nine centimeters. She squeezed Jack's hand as the pain took over. She was so tired she didn't think she had any energy left to push the baby out.

Just then her doctor came into the room. "How are we doing?" Dr. Sarah Brady asked then examined Elizabeth.

"Something feels different. I feel the urge to push." Elizabeth said breathlessly, then felt another contraction. She couldn't take the pain anymore and started to scream. "Jack, please make the pain stop! I can't take it anymore."

"Yes, you can, Sweetheart. You are almost there. I know you can do this." He kissed her forehead then wiped it with a cool cloth.

"Elizabeth you are at ten. Time to start pushing!" The doctor said as one of the nurses brought over a table with medical instruments on it.

Elizabeth nodded, then said a quick prayer to God to help her get through the delivery. It wouldn't be long now before she held her baby in her arms. The next contraction started building and she began to push, which Jack helping her by letting her hold both his hands. She pushed for a half an hour before she felt the baby start to crown. It was so painful she let out the worst screams ever. "This hurts so much!" She cried out.

"Keep pushing, Elizabeth. I know you can do this. I am right here for you. I love you so much!" Jack said into her ear. He hated seeing her in such pain and it made him scared and nervous. He had to keep reminding himself that the end result would be them holding their baby.

Elizabeth screamed again as the shoulders were born. She didn't know how she was doing it, but she somehow found the strength to keep pushing. Finally she felt her baby slid from her body into the arms of the doctor. After what seemed like an eternity for both the new parents but was only a couple of seconds, they heard their baby cry. Elizabeth started to cry.

Jack was crying too. "You did it, Sweetheart! You brought our child into the world. I love you so much!"

Dr. Brady turned to them with the baby in her arms. "Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby girl!" She placed the baby on Elizabeth's stomach, then turned walked away to let the new family have a few moments alone.

Elizabeth stared down at their baby and cried. "Look at her, Jack. She's beautiful! Look what we did!"

Jack swallowed hard, trying to find a way to keep his emotions in check, but he couldn't. He put his hand on his daughter's head and stroked it, tears flowing from his eyes. "She looks just like you."

"Do you want to hold her, Daddy?"

"More than you could possible know." He gently picked her up, careful to cradle her head. "Should we call her what we decided? Emily Elizabeth Thornton?" He sat down on the bed and gazed at his beautiful girls. He was a blessed man.

Elizabeth looked down at her precious little girl, already in love with her pretty little face. "Welcome to the world Emily Elizabeth Thornton."

Thanksgiving 2017

It was early afternoon and Elizabeth was checking over the house making sure everything was set for the first family Thanksgiving in their new house. They had found a four bedroom home in one of the suburbs of Boston with a big back yard and room to grow. Elizabeth insisted she host both their families this year. She was taking a year off from teaching so she could raise Emily. She was also tutoring students a couple days a week.

Elizabeth stepped into the family room to see Jack holding Emily, talking to her about football as if she could understand. The sight warmed her heart. Jack was completely in love with their daughter; he was a wonderful father. She sighed happily at her family.

Jack looked up at that moment and smiled. "Everything all set, Sweetheart?"

"Yes it is. All we need is for the guests to start arriving." Just then they heard the doorbell. "That was good timing." Elizabeth laughed and went to open the door.

Soon everyone was in the house talking, enjoying appetizers, and taking turns holding Emily. Emily was so good, allowing grandparents, aunts and uncles hold her without crying at all. The family spent a wonderful day together. When it came time for dinner, they came together at the table and joined hands, each one saying one thing they were thankful for. It was hard because so many good things had happened to them this year but they all agreed about one thing; they were all thankful that Emily Elizabeth Thornton had entered their lives.


End file.
